I just watched the 1953 House of Wax. Loved it! Haven't seen it in years and it's a fantastic horror with a real taste for the theatrical, probably more than usual because it was going to be shown in 3D. Jimmy, although the DVD isn't 3D, it is still great fun to watch and spot the scenes that were done for that very reason. Things being thrown toward camera, gratuitous close-ups of Can-Can dancers, things swinging by the camera.
There's a hilarious moment when the wax museum is being opened. Outside there is an entertainer to bring people in and he has bats with balls on elastic. He bats them at people to give them a scare, but also at the screen and at one point he breaks the fourth wall, looking right down the camera saying he can see someone with popcorn and he's going to smack it out of their hands. Cue elasticated ball flying toward you!
Hitchcock was made to film Dial M for Murder as if it were going to be for 3D. The fad had died out by the time it came to release, but that's another film fun for spotting the 3D moments. Pete, that's another remake comparison you could do for this marathon... A Perfect Murder is a new version of Dial M.
As remakes go, I liked being able to check out Mystery of the Wax Museum on the DVD. Didn't watch it properly, just scanned through it for now, but I was impressed by how faithful the Vincent Price version was. Some scenes were verbatim, including dialogue and even the bit where... . Considering its age, I think it holds up rather well.
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